Juvenile connected to M-A lockdown interviewed again; gun recovered
Yesterday (04/05/2018), the Atherton Police Department received additional information regarding the male juvenile who they had interviewed on Wednesday in connection with the lockdown at Menlo-Atherton High School.
This new information (in the form of text messages) revealed specific threats made by the subject about a hit he was supposed to carry out on an M-A student. Although the subject never specifically identified who the alleged victim was supposed to be, investigators had enough information to figure out who the subject was referring to.
On Thursday evening at approximately 9:00 pm, APD 0fficers pinged the subject’s cell phone to a location near Newbridge Street and Jervis Avenue in East Palo Alto. At approximately 11:49 PM, officers located the subject at a residence on Newbridge Street in East Palo Alto.
Officers found the 16-year-old male subject living in a tent in the backyard of the residence. APD Officers also found what they believed was the gun held by the 16-year-old male subject in the Facebook photograph (photo top) that prompted the lockdown at M-A on April 4. This gun is a Crosman Vigilante Pellet and B.B. air pistol (.357 magnum replica).
Investigators believe this was the same gun in the Facebook photo that prompted the lockdown because a) the photograph comparisons are extremely similar, and b) the 16-year-old male subject told APD Officers it was the same pellet gun.
No criminal charges were filed against the male juvenile. However, due to the fact that the male juvenile was living in a tent in a backyard with no parental supervision, the male juvenile was taken into custody and released to San Mateo County Child Protective Services.
